Curious Roots is a podcast and living archive unearthing the lessons of history to imagine a better future. Though the format of the podcast may vary from season to season, be it narratives, one-on-one interviews or panel discussions, the root line is the same. What are the stories from our family and community histories that travel with us into the present? How do we understand and work with these histories as both individuals and as collectives to create the world of now and the future? Season one of the podcast begins with the maternal story of my own curious roots, still buried, but breathing and holding fast in Harris Neck, Georgia. Curious Roots is hosted by Michelle McCrary and is co-produced by Moonshadow Productions and DayClean Communications.
Our final episode is a special treat. We take a look at how formerly enslaved people are woven into the fabric of American art from another angle with historian, consultant, writer and genealogist Ja'el Gordon. Her research focuses on antebellum history, with a special focus on plantations. Her latest research revealed the story behind a painting acquired by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Portrait of Leana and the Lambeth Children that portrays the two daughters of William Meridith Lambeth Sr., Frances "Fanny" Bernard Lambeth and Medora "Dora" Lambeth along with a Black woman named Leana.
We discuss her research on the Lambeth painting and her time as a consultant on the series Queen Sugar.
Learn more about Ja'El's research on Leana and the Lambeth Children. Check out the Queen Sugar 101 Learning Companion.
5 Aug 2026
Culture of Living Shores
The land where Black Coastal communities make art and make culture remains under threat decades after the destruction of Harris Neck. This episode explores some the the environmental challenges communities are facing today.
Learn more about Nakia Wigfall's sweetgrass basket making and check out her children's book series.
Follow Queen Quet's work for the Gullah Geechee Nation.
Read Adrian Cato's Oyster Futurities: More-than-Human Kinship and the Humble Mollusk.
Image: United States. Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service. Aerial Photography Division. Aerial photographs of McIntosh County taken by the United States. Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service. Aerial Photography Division in 1953.
27 Jun 2026
The Negroes Aren't Quite Sure What We're After
We take a closer look into Isaac Baisden Jr.'s life and the events brewing around him in the summer of 1939 when he met William R. Bascom in Harris Neck.
Newsreel clips from the Internet Archive.
Music by Clarence Williams' Blue Five - Everybody Loves My Baby (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V42uJKhoe2I)
Curious Roots is executive produced by Michelle McCrary for DayClean Communications and Moonshadow Productions. Music and additional co-production by Juan Pablo Piedrahita.
Learn more about the Harris Neck at harrisnecklandtrust.org. Learn more about the Black coastal communities from North Carolina to Florida at gullahgeecheecorridor.org.
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